Public Health in Focus Seminar: A Force for Good? How the criminal justice system can support the public’s health.

Wednesday 25th January 2017, 1pm-3.30pm:

Marybone Lecture Theatre, Marybone, Liverpool, L3 2BT

Light refreshments provided

The police and criminal justice have always had a frontline role to play in responses to issues around public health, in particular with those relating to illegal drugs. Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) for instance have been tasked with improving partnership working with other organisations such as councils and the NHS to ensure a holistic approach is taken to such issues, but this must also be balanced against law enforcement priorities. Recently, some PCCs have publicly deprioritised actions against some types of drug offence in order to focus resources elsewhere, but this is far from widespread.

Taking a broader view, PHE have recently published a paper “Police and Public Health”, available here, which provides an overview of police partnership working across England to address wider determinants of health.

This Public Health in Focus event proceeds in collaboration with the Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing Studies (LCAPS) and explores the interrelationship between the criminal justice system and public health, and discusses what can be done to improve partnership working to achieve better health and social outcomes. The event will be facilitated by Prof Harry Sumnall from the Public Health Institute, LJMU and include audience discussions and presentations from Neil Woods (author of Good Cop, Bad War about his former life as an undercover Drugs Detective Sergeant), Detective Superintendent Lee Turners (Merseyside Police), and Dr Daniel Silverstone, Reader in Policing at LJMU and research lead for LCAPS. The event will be of interest to all those in fields related to public health, the criminal justice field, and anyone working to reduce the direct and indirect harms of drug use.

If you would like to attend, please RSVP with your name and organisation details and any special dietary or access requirements to publichealthinfocus@ljmu.ac.uk no later than Wednesday 18th January.